September 2014 - J Rob Bray, Matthew Gray, Kelly Hand and Ilan Katz

A relatively recent development in the Australian social security system has been the introduction of policies of income management for some people in receipt of income support payments. The policy limits the amount of income support paid to people as an unconditional cash transfer and imposes restrictions on how the remaining – sometimes termed ‘quarantined’ – funds can be spent. Income management was designed to ensure that these funds are spent on essential ‘basic’ items and to limit the amount of income that can be spent on tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and gambling.

Income management was first introduced in the Northern Territory in 2007 as part of the Federal Government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). The main form of income management currently in place is “New Income Management”, which was introduced in the second half of 2010 to replace the NTER Income Management program and operates only in the Northern Territory.

Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory:  Final Evaluation Report

Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Summary Report